Vasel Makes Wheels Up Landing

As previously reported on WGEL, an airplane made a wheels-up landing Wednesday evening at the Greenville Airport, meaning the plane’s landing gear was not functional. Randy Vasel of Greenville was the pilot of the plane.

Vasel told WGEL that he was flying with Mark Owensby Wednesday. They left just before 4 PM and when it was time to land, the gear malfunctioned. Vasel said they tried to deploy the landing gear manually, but that didn’t work either. Vasel contacted the airport to tell them about the situation and Greenville Fire Protection District personnel, ambulance personnel, and emergency helicopters were called to the scene. Fortunately, Vasel was able to land the plane without incident.

Vasel, who has been flying planes since he was 15, told us the close call Wednesday night would not deter him from flying planes and he’s looking forward to getting back in an airplane as soon as possible.